REVIEW: Kin Beneath Chorus – Futuristic. Composed (2013)

Have you ever found something in the place you might least expect it? Perhaps like finding the keys tucked beneath a bundle of grapes in the fridge, or the remote to the TV on the passenger seat of your car. Or maybe it was something you were searching all over for to purchase, but couldn’t find for the life of you—only to find out that the corner store down your block had them all along? The point is, sometimes life has ways of sneaking in little surprises for you. Kin Beneath Chorus are one of those surprises. Futuristic. Composed is a marvelous breakout release from Greece, of all places, which attacks the listener with stunning, metallic riffs and intricate song structures that include sections jaw-breaking heaviness and atmospheric moments which stray into exceptionally progressive realms.

On one hand, Kin Beneath Chorus feature straightforward aggression and dissonant, chug-ridden slams reminiscent of a heavy, low-down-and-dirty deathcore act. These sections—found especially frequently throughout the beginning of the album on tracks like “Nothing is Sacred” and “Beyond the Dynamic” tend to spend most of their time battering the spine of the listener and breaking their ribs with downtuned, punishing breakdowns and visceral, intense vocal assaults. The percussion is especially deep and plodding, keeping a firm grasp on the low, writhing bass guitar with meaty, booming kick drums and pulse-pounding toms. Meanwhile, the guitar strays towards the low end of the fretboard, reigning overtop the looming percussion with gruesome, muddy chugs. This is as true in the climactic breakdown of “Beyond the Dynamic” as it is during the opening blitzkrieg in “Voice of Truth.” All the while, as the musicianship harmonizes to create a monstrous, chugging and unstoppable low-end tank, the vocals range from shrill, high screams to a deep, throaty growl—and hitting a harsh mid-range yell in between—to provide the listener with just enough variety to keep them from getting completely trampled by the gargantuan and soul-crushing instrumentation.

On the other hand, however, Futuristic. Composed is home to metallic, technically proficient shredding and moments of progressive dynamism which sound almost as if the listener is experiencing a whole different artist. Kin Beneath Chorus give you their first peak at engaging, immersive technicality and melodic harmonization in the album’s self-titled track. The vocals seem to change their tone to throaty, half-chanted scream (or become omitted altogether) as the instrumentation’s focus changes from rending the listener lifeless, to inspiring and engaging them with a threnody of softer, soothing tones and intricately written riffs and drum lines. Another track which makes extended use of the band’s penchant for the metallic is “Within the Goodness Junkyard.” This song incorporates a stellar concluding solo in between segments of frenetic blast beats and energetic riffing which strikes the listener as reminiscent of August Burns Red, rather than the Kin Beneath Chorus’ other tracks, which roar with an almost The Faceless-esque tone to them. The band’s ability to flow so brilliantly between melodic metalcore and hard-hitting deathcore is one of their greatest weapons—but also the source of their sole slight fault.

While Kin Beneath Chorus, for the most part, excel at including triumphant, metalcore anthems into a sturdy, firm death metal mold, there are moments where their attempts at including progressive elements into their songs strike the listener as shallow. Where “Road to Bloodshed” begins as a hard-hitting, heavy and fast metalcore track, it soon begins to sound contrived, as the track drags on and the riffs seem glaring and recycled. Similarly, portions of “Lavish and Ungrateful” fall into the same trap. However, even at these moments of forced technicality and pedantic progression, the instrumentation is nothing but top notch. Furthermore, when the progressive and aggressive elements of Futuristic. Composed do align properly, they are nothing short of perfect. “In Parallel Vol. 72” is an epic and stunning instrumental which takes the listener on a journey through the band’s two distinct dimensions. Likewise, “Greetings, Atrocity” is home to a haunting and immense climactic breakdown, while “Futuristic. Composed” serves as a brief but comprehensive lexicon to the band’s unique style. The punch line is, that while the band doesn’t always hit their mark, when they do, they hit it dead on.

Whether you like heavy, hard-hitting music with a touch of the progressive and ethereal, or ethereal sections amidst a storm of furiously fretted riffs and heaviness, Kin Beneath Chorus are the band you’ve been looking for—and had no idea where to find. Futuristic. Composed is a progressive release which braves sections of contrived attempts at technicality to provide an immersive and entrancing compilation of stunningly composed and dynamic music.